Teddy Alexander: The Lost God
by PlushChrome
Summary: Teddy Alexander hated his life. It only gets worse when he discovers he's the son of a roman god, and is sent off to Camp Jupiter, which has problems of its own. With legionairres dying off or getting injured and the Augers dying off every other week while delivering pieces of what is called "The Many Prophecies," something big is about to happen. Set 16 years after PJ series.
1. Never Trust a Tomato Plant

_Author's notes: I started this story around October last year, and never finished it. But, after reading Mark of Athena last night, I found myself feeling inspired to continue. I have edited the first four chapters, as my writing style back then was very different than it is now, and there were so many mistakes that it was laughable. Now that the first four chapters are edited, I'll start working on the next one, and hope that my inspiration lasts longer this time around than it did last year. XD_

_Disclaimer: I do not own the Percy Jackson series, or the Heroes of Olympus series. In fact, I don't even own most of the OC's. Teddy Alexander, the hero in this story, is based off one of my online friends on another site, one of my "little brothers," if you will. I wrote this story as part of a secret santa present for him last year, and while he loved even that I thought of it, I've always felt a bit guilty about not finishing it._

_Most of the other OC's except for Jamie Killigan , Johnny Wadkins, and Valeri Paul were recieved from a character dump thread on said site, I posted that I needed about twenty characters for my story, and everyone delivered. So, if any of those OC's bear any resemblence to other characters from movies, TV shows, or video games, it was unintentional and not my fault. But this is a disclaimer, so really, it doesn't matter._

_Anyway, I hope you enjoy this story, so here you go!_

* * *

Teddy Alexander had a miserable life. And yeah, I know everybody says that, but in this case, it was true. For one thing, he didn't have a dad. He lived with his mom in a two bedroom apartment in a crummy apartment complex in downtown Athens, a perfect representation of small town nowhere situated in Greene County, New York. There was never anything to do in Athens, other than go to school. And for Teddy Alexander, school was a living nightmare.

Teddy went to school at Coxsacie-Athens, a joint school for the two towns. He was always getting into trouble, too, but never enough to get expelled. He was dyslexic, which meant he had trouble reading and writing, and had ADHD, so his teachers never really knew what to do with him. He never remembered to do his homework and he never knew any answers for anything if the teacher called on him in class, so his grades were pretty bad. And he didn't have any friends, everybody avoided him. Well, except for the bullies. They payed him a visit everyday, even on the weekends, they would find him and mess with him. At school they would walk by and shove him into the wall, or they would trip him or knock books out of his hands, and they would make fun of him. "Hey Theadore Eumlaudamaus Alexander!" Johnny Wadkins would say. He was the leader, and whenever he or any of his "gang" talked to Teddy, they always used his full name, which was another thing Teddy hated.

What kind of name was Theadore Eumlaudamaus Alexander, anyway? He once asked his mom why she named him such a long stupid name, and she told him that she named him Theadore after Theadore Roosevelt, and she wanted him to be like Theadore Roosevelt when he grew up, and although she had no control of their last name, Alexander, she was glad about it because Alexander the Great was, well, great. As for Eumlaudamaus, she said that was the choice of Teddy's father. He asked about his father once, and she told him kindly but firmly that he must never ask about his father again. He never did, but the kids at school mentioned him a lot.

"Poor Theadore Eumlaudamaus Alexander doesn't have a daddy," Johnny Wadkins would say in a fake sympathetic voice. "Probably ran away when he saw Theadore Eulaudamaus Alexander's ugly face!" Teddy always tried to ignore stuff like that, but it wasn't always easy.

"Or maybe," Jamie Killigan would chime in. "Maybe Theadore Eumlaudamaus Alexander's mom scared him away with her snake collection!"

Teddy's mom, Hannah Alexander, collected snakes. Not live ones, but little statues of serpents winding up trees or slithering along on their way, always traveling but never getting anywhere. She had more than a hundred, some made of stone, some glass, some that lit up or twisted around. She had collected snakes as long as he could remember, but he kind of liked it, they were cool in a creepy sort of way. He didn't think anybody would be scared away by a bunch of statues. Besides, Jamie Killigan wasn't one to talk. She didn't have a mom. She lived with her dad and step-mom in a small house above her dad's flowershop, and she had to work everyday after school, and she wasn't any smarter then he was.

But Johnny Wadkins never picked on _her,_ and he even let her into his gang.

_Probably because she always smells like a bunch of stinking flowers blew up in her face,_ Teddy thought bitterly. _That, and she's just as rotten as he is._

In fact, she could have possibly been even more rotten. It was her fault that Teddy got bullied on weekends too. Johnny Wadkins lived in Coxsackie, but Jamie lived in Athens, just two blocks away from Teddy's house, and she never _ever_ forgot to come over and make him miserable. Every Saturday morning, he found a bouquet of rotten flowers stinking up the front porch, and throughout the day, whenever she wasn't working in the flowershop, she was following him around and giggling with her silly friends about how ugly he was. And honestly, Teddy wasn't that bad looking. He had his mom's haircolor, a dark brown color, but his eyes were different, almost slanted, and when he smiled, his mouth kind of turned up higher on one side. When he was little, his mom had called him her "Little Elf." But still, everybody at school maintained that he was ugly, and so everybody in Athens that wanted to be somebody at school agreed.

All in all, Teddy hated living in Athens, New York. Every summer, he asked his mom if they could move away to someplace else, maybe a big city with skyscrapers and movie theaters and malls, but his mom always said no, she liked Athens. She said it felt safe and out of the way, not very easy to find. He asked her why it mattered wether or not Athens was easy to find, but she just laughed and said it was "better off that way."

But probably the worst thing about his miserable life was his next door neighbor, Mrs. Lee. Mrs. Lee had just moved in about a month ago, and every morning she was out in the front yard, working on her tomato plants. In the short month that she'd lived next door, Teddy had drawn three conclusions about her. One; that she was obsessed with the well-being of her precious tomatoes, two; that she hadn't taken a bath since she got here, or anytime before that for that matter. And three; that she wanted to eat him for breakfast.

Every morning as he walked by on his way to the school bus, she watched him from behind her tomatoes, eyes wide open, staring at him greedily. He even thought he heard her making raspy gurgling sounds as he walked by, and once he thought he saw drool dripping from her open mouth. Mrs. Lee was fairly young, and would have been pretty if she kept herself clean, but it was kind of distracting to have her drool at you when you went to school. His mother would look out the window sometimes and shake her head, saying that something should be done about that woman, but nothing ever was.

Everything would have been fine, though, if she hadn't turned into a snake and tried to eat him one morning. He would have gone to school and had his face shoved into the mystery meat, and he would have been called by his full name and made fun of for being ugly. Life would have been normal.

Instead, he was walking up the front walk, trying not to look at Mrs. Lee out of the corner of his eye, when all of a sudden, she was in front of him, standing much too close for comfort. He took a step back, startled, but she just stepped forward again.

"My, such a lovely boy," she said in a whisper. "Such a lovely boy with such unusual blood. Such special blood, so deliciousss..." She drew the last word out so the "s" lasted longer than usual, and he took another step back.

"Uh, thanks, I guess." Teddy said uneasily. What was wrong with her? She seemed so tall, and she was swaying back and forth as if there was music playing somewhere nearby.

"Such a lovely boy drew me here," she said smoothly. "Yes, yes, much much better than tomato juice... I haven't had a good drink in quite awhile."

With that, she turned into a giant snake, just like some of the ones on his mom's dresser, except alive and really, really big. Also, her head was still the same Mrs. Lee, dirty face and greasy hair, but something was different. Her mouth wide open, revealing a set of really long sharp teeth. Mrs. Lee had fangs. They weren't any cleaner than the rest of her, they were yellow and grimy, with reddish stains that looked like they could have come from her tomatoes, but he wasn't so sure about that now.

She lunged forward at him, and with a yell, he jumped out of the way, falling to the grass. His mother opened the door and ran out, yelling something. He couldn't make out what it was, but he automatically felt better knowing she was there.

The snake-Mrs. Lee hissed furiously, but she backed up a little ways, before lunging forward again, to snap at his mom. She dodged the attack and repeated what she'd said earlier. It sounded like a different language. The snake seemed to roar, and then it turned and slithered away down the street, leaving a trail of slime behind it, as if it were trying to prove that it was there.

"To think, Lamiae, here!" Teddy heard his mom say. "Oh, he was right, but I thought this place was safe!" She rushed Teddy back into the house and locked the door. Then she tested it three times.

"Mom," Teddy said. "What's going on?"

She ignored him, running to make sure the back door was closed. "If I hadn't looked out the window at the right time... Oh, how horrible!"

"Mom!" he said urgently, following her into the kitchen. "What was that... that thing? What happened to Mrs. Lee?"

She looked at him for a second and said, more as if she were talking to herself instead of him, "I'll have to do it, it's not safe here anymore. Oh, what was the way? How did he say to do it?"

"MOM!" Teddy yelled, and she finally stopped talking and looked at him. "What's going on?" he asked again. "Why did Mrs. Lee turn into a giant snake thing?"

"Oh Teddy..." she said wearliy. "I'm so sorry. None of this was supposed to happen, I thought we were safe here in Athens, even if it was Greek. He said this would happen. I should have listened to him, but I didn't. I thought I'd found a safe place, where the monsters wouldn't find us."

"Wait," Teddy said. "Greek? Monsters? Who said this would happen? What's going on?" She sighed. I think I'd better start from the beginning," she said. "But first, I need to go call someone. Wait here, I'll be right back." "But what about school?" She stopped in the doorway. "Forget about it," she said simply. "You're not going to school anymore."

* * *

When his mom came back into the kitchen, Teddy had gotten out two glasses filled with orange juice, and had pretty much decided that he already believed anything his mom was going to tell him. After almost being eaten by a giant snake that had the head of his tomato-growing kid-eating next-door neighbor, pretty much anything was possible. So he wasn't all that stunned when his mom sat down and said, straight off the bat, "Teddy, your father is a god."

Well, he almost wasn't stunned. But really, any sane kid would have been completely stupid to believe such a thing. Then again, any sane kid wouldn't think they were attacked by a snake-lady. "Uh... what?" He asked, raising his eyebrows.

She sighed. "A little over twelve years ago, I met a man in New York City, who was the most amazing man I'd ever seen." Teddy stopped breathing. Was she talking about his dad? "He had eyes just like yours, and when he smiled, the corner of his mouth turned up, he looked just like an elf." An elf. So that was why she called him her little elf. Because he reminded her of his dad.

"He was very sly, very cunning, but at the same time, very hospitable," she said. "The Roman god of Messages, of travellers, and of business. Mercury. He took a liking to me." She sighed. "That summer, you were born. He came to visit, to warn me about the dangers that were sure to follow you wherever we went. He told me that you are what is known as a demigod, a half-blood. Half god, half mortal."

She let that sink in, and Teddy stared at his glass of untouched orange juice. So he was the son of a god. Cool. No wait, _not_ cool! So what, a great and mighty god comes down to New York City and boom. Fell in love with Hannah Alexander? And now here he was, Theadore Eumlaudamaus Alexander, in his full name glory, being picked on and bullied, because he didn't have a dad, while the guy was up in... wherever the gods lived, Teddy didn't know much about mythology.

The point was, he was out having a grand old time as a god, leaving his kid to deal with life with no one to help him except his mom. "So he shows up to tell you how dangerous I am, and then takes off, leaving you alone to face giant snake people?" he said. "Some dad."

His mother winced, as if facing a truth she didn't like. "Teddy, please." she said quietly. "He didn't simply leave me in the lurch. He told me about a special camp, a place where you'll be safe from the monsters. I just... I just didn't want to send you away, I wanted to keep you with me. I thought you'd be safe here in Athens." A half-smile showed on her face for a second. "Named after the city of Athens, in Ancient Greece, which, of course, was named after the Greek goddess Athena, goddess of wisdom, Patron of the city."

Teddy looked at her. "How do you remember all that stuff about the gods, and the cities?"

She looked at him. "Well, once you realize how real this all is, you start remembering the old stories, and trying to learn new ones." She frowned. "Besides, that's really not the issue here. We're talking about how you aren't safe here in Athens."

Oh yeah. Mrs. Lee.

"I thought that Athens would be enough protection against the monsters," His mom continued. "Even though Athena is Greek while Mercury is Roman. But I guess Greek protections don't work the same for Roman demigods. The Lamiae found you here, it won't be long before they'll come back, looking for you." She sighed, and looked out the window at Mrs. Lee's abandoned tomato plants. "I have it all arranged. The wolves will be here tonight, they'll escort you to the camp."

Teddy blinked. "Wolves?" he said.

"Yes, Teddy, wolves." His mother said with a smile. "They'll be here tonight, so you'd better get your stuff together."

Great, so he was the son of a god, on his way to a camp full of other kids of the gods, being attacked by snake-people, and escorted by wolves. _Just my rotten luck._


	2. I Almost Become Doggy Chow

The rest of the day was pretty boring, compared to the attack. Teddy had rushed while he was getting ready, trying to decide what he'd take with him to this camp. He packed his backpack with a couple changes of clothes, his toothbrush, toothpaste, and a water bottle. he also took this cool stone he found in the Hudson River one day in science class (The students sometimes went down to the river to do their experiments) and his mom gave him one of her snake statues.

Honestly, Teddy wasn't sure he ever wanted to see another snake in his life, but she meant well and the statue was one of her favorites, so he thanked her for it and wrapped it carefully in newspaper before burying it in the bottom of my backpack. It was a pretty cool statue, made of porcelein, and it was a black snake climbing up an old knotted tree, intertwined among the branches and hanging it's head down halfway between the lowest branch and the ground. She told Teddy that she hoped it would bring him luck, and then she hugged him and they put his backpack down by the door.

That was ten in the morning. Teddy spent the rest of the day pacing back and forth, cleaning his room, trying to read a book about Roman mythology (his mom said that he should try and learn what he was getting into), but he couldn't focus on it. Everytime he heard a noise outside, a car going by or an airplane overhead, he thought it might be another monster coming to attack him, so he was on edge the whole day. His mom was too, she tried to hide it, but Teddy could tell. She was fidgety and kept glancing at the door, as if she expected a monster to come crashing in on us any second.

Finally we turned on the television in an effort to try and distract ourselves. That was a big mistake. On the local news channel, a peppy looking anchor lady was talking about a strange attack that had happened at Coxsackie-Athens middle school, and how baffling it had been. On the side of the screen, there was a blurry picture of Mrs. Lee in her snake-form, slithering out of a cafeteria window.

"Students claim that a woman entered the building during the lunch break and used a long heavy whip to destroy tables, chairs, and anything else in her way. The students all escaped without injury, except for one girl, who went into shock at the attack and began hallucinating."

That's when it happened. The picture of Mrs. Lee dissappeared, and in it's place, a picture of Jamie Killigan showed up, her fifth grade picture-day photo, when she wore a stupid sweater her stepmom bought for her and was mad and irritable for the rest of the day. Teddy thought for a second that she would freak out if she knew that picture was on the news station. But then the news lady kept talking.

"Twelve year-old Jamie Killigan wildly told the teachers and other students that the woman had turned into a giant snake and tried to drink her blood. When the paramedics arrived, she told them the same story, and..." But Teddy didn't hear anymore. His mom was freaking out next to him, and he turned towards her.

"Oh my!" She was saying. "The girl's another demigod!"

"Mom," Teddy said. "How come nobody else saw the snake?"

She looked at Teddy. "The Mist," she said.

"Uh, what mist?" Teddy asked her. "The day was perfect, not a cloud in the sky."

She looked irritated. "No," she said. "The Mist. It's this thing that hides stuff like monsters and weapons from the mortals, it makes them see something different than it actually is. So when a Lamiae attacks a school cafeteria, the students only see a strange woman with a long whip. The real question you should be asking is, why did that girl actually see the Lamiae? The Mist should have made it invisible to her."

She looked at Teddy and he suddenly realized what she was saying. "She's a demigod, too," he said quietly.

His mother nodded grimly. "She's a demigod, too. And so when the snake left after attacking you..." She trailed off.

"It went and attacked her at school," Teddy said simply.

She nodded again. "I'll have to get a message to Lupa about this."

Teddy looked up, distracted. "Lupa? Who's that?"

His mom responded absent-mindedly, still thinking about Jamie Killigan. "Lupa is the leader of the wolf pack," She explained.

Oh, well that explained it. Teddy's anxiousness returned full force, and he glanced at the door, almost expecting a pack of giant man-eating wolves to come crashing through the door and take him away. Nothing happened, however, and he turned back to the TV, where an arrogant looking guy was now explaining the weather patterns and a coldfront coming in.

Teddy turned off the TV. So Jamie Killigan was a demigod, too. Again, it was just his rotten luck. Here he'd finally gotten the chance to have a new life, and she ruins it by having it with him. Just his stinking stupid rotten luck.

* * *

The wolves showed up at precisely two in the morning, right after Teddy had finally fallen asleep. He woke up to his mom shaking him awake, and for a moment, he thought he'd dreamed the whole thing up. But then he heard the howling. He was wide awake instantly, and his mom told him to get his backpack. She gave him another hug, and then stepped outside to speak with the wolves.

Teddy shivered at the cold night air, and put his shoes on in a hurry so that he could get his jacket on. When he was bundled up, he stepped outside and heard his mom talking to the wolves about Jamie Killigan. She told them where Jamie lived and how to get there, and then she gave Teddy one last hug and they were off.

Teddy's teeth chattered as they walked the two blocks to the flowershop, and when they got there, two of the wolves went around back while Teddy and the others stood across the street. After a few moments of waiting, Teddy looked around at the other wolves.

"Uh, what are we doing?" He asked quietly. I mean, he figured that if his mom could talk to them, they probably understood English. But he didn't need an answer, because just then, the two wolves returned, leading a stunned looking Jamie Killigan over to them. She looked absolutely terrified, and for a moment, Teddy felt sorry for her, but then she saw him and practically exploded.

"Theadore Eumlaudamaus Alexander, what in the name of everything in the universe is going on!?" She hissed in a whisper. At least she had the sense not to scream at him in the middle of the night.

"Oh, nothing much," Teddy snapped back in a whisper. "Just you and I both got attacked by a giant snake lady and now we have to go to a special camp because we're kids of Roman gods. Oh, and we're possibly related." That last part had suddenly occoured to him and by the look on her face, she hated the idea just as much as he did.

"You jerk!" She hissed, and for a moment, Teddy wondered what could possibly be running through her deranged mind that made her mad at him, but then he realized she was looking at the house above the flowershop, and wasn't talking to him.

"After twelve years of dodging my questions, I find out _now_ that I'm in danger for my life?" She hissed. "You could have _told_ me or something!" Then she turned away and muttered "Some dad." Suddenly, the shock and anxiety of the day dissappeared, and it struck Teddy just how alike he and Jamie really were. He started to laugh, and then he started choking in an effort to be quiet, and the wolves started to lead them out of the neighborhood. Jamie scowled at him and asked what was so funny. "Nothing," Teddy gasped, and kept laughing. One of the wolves looked at him angrily as if to say "Shut up!" and he got himself under control.

They traveled for the rest of the night in relative silence, too cold and too tired to do much talking. Teddy had a million thoughts run through his head, though, and as they walked, he took a side-glance at Jamie every once in awhile. She hadn't had a chance to prepare like he did, and she was wearing pink fuzzy pajama pants and pink snowboots. Over that was a pink puffy coat, and then she was wearing a pink furry hat that covered her ears. She had a pink backpack slung over her shoulder, and she was carrying a silver purse with pink pockets and pink zippers, and a pink handle.

She looked like an explosion of pink, and she smelled like an explosion of flowers. What, had she thought to put perfume on before she snuck out of the house in the middle of the night with two wolves? Or did she put it on every night before bed?

Soon enough, his thoughts turned to other things. So Jamie was a demigod, just like he was. He wondered who her mom was, and what her dad had told her all those years. He wondered how she had escaped from Mrs. Lee without help, and he wondered if her dad really thought she was crazy or if he knew what had really happened. He also wondered if she was dyslexic or ADHD like he was, and he wondered why she hated him, when he'd never done anything to her.

He also wondered about his dad, Mercury, and wondered what he was like. His mom had said Mercury was the Roman god of travellers and business, and that sounded boring to Teddy. It made him think of all those commercials of business men trying to figure out what was the best hotel to use with their travellers points. Was that the kind of person Mercury was? Would he ever see his dad? Did he live at this camp? What was the camp like? All these questions and more rushed through Teddy's head, but as the night went on and he got more tired and cold and hungryheHe stopped thinking altogether and just walked.

When the sky started getting lighter, One of the wolves looked up and then turned towards the other wolves. They led us deep into a small forest, and as we stumbled through the trees, two of the wolves went on ahead of us. We walked for a long while, and then we came into a clearing, with a small pool of water. It looked good, and Teddy walked forward quickly to get a drink. After he was finished, he felt a lot better, and he found a sort of soft place on the ground where he could get comfortable, and then he fell asleep.

While he was asleep, Teddy dreamed about a woman, beautiful and important, with rich brown hair and soft dark eyes. She was dressed simply in a pair of jeans and a v-necked flowy white T-shirt. As he dreamed, he realized something was different about her, she wasn't just some woman. An aura of power radiated from her, making her seem more strong than she currently looked. She was pregnant. Pretty far along, too. She looked happy, but very weak, as if this pregnancy had taken a lot out of her.

Next to her was a man, strong looking and proud, with golden hair and eyes the color of a stormy sky, grey and ever changing, that practically shone with brilliance. He was obviously important, and wore a very nice business suit and polished shoes. The two could not have been more different, and yet, they seemed to belong together.

As Teddy watched, the man looked down at the woman and smiled, but then he turned and left, leaving her alone. The happiness left her face, and she looked sorrowful and pensive, as if she knew this was going to happen but didn't like it. She turned to Teddy, and in a voice that was soft and motherlike, but ringing with power and resolve, as if there were a different voice speaking through her, said "Child of Rome, you must remember what you see here, for it is very important."

Teddy woke up and saw the sky was getting dark. The wolves were stretching their legs and yawning, as if they also had just woken up. Over by the pool, Jamie was splashing her face with water and scrubbing it rather violently with some kind of soap. "Where did you get that?" Teddy asked, surprised. Was there some kind of convenience store nearby that sold stuff like that? "I got it from Wal-mart, Theadore Eumlaudamaus Alexander," she said, rolling her eyes as if Teddy were stupid or something. He looked around. There was nothing around them but trees, as far as he could see anyway. She sighed dramatically and pointed at her backpack, which was wide open. It was crammed full of stuff, much more than Teddy had brought with him.

She had a hairbrush, a comb, a small bag full of makeup, shampoo bottles, lotion, all sorts of stuff. Folded neatly in the bottom of the backpack were at least three changes of clothes, including the fuzzy pink pajama pants she had been wearing last night. Now she was wearing a clean pair of jeans and a green T-shirt with pink flowers on the front, topped with a white hoodie. Teddy was suddenly struck with how pretty she looked. Her red hair, naturally curly, hung to her shoulders and her green eyes looked absolutely gorgeous in comparison. Her face was flushed with the cold of the water, and without any makeup on, He could see how naturally pink her lips were. However, she ruined the effect by twisting her face into a scowl and glaring at Teddy as if he were a Lamiae come to eat her, and she had to decide wether to chop his head off or tie him in a knot. He suddenly realized he had been staring at her, and he turned away, hoping she didn't notice how red his face was bound to be. "You're a jerk, Jamie Killigan," he said.

Everything went on like this for days, as they travelled further and further west. They would travel at night, in cover of darkness, and camp during the day, often in caves or deep inside forests. Every day, Teddy slept like a baby, but he didn't have any more dreams about the pregnant woman or the important business man. As they travelled, the landscape around them slowly changed, from the flat green of New York to the low hills of South Dakota to the craggy mountains of Nevada. They travelled until they reached sunny California, which, coincidentally, isn't all that sunny. The skies were grey and overcast, and it rained or drizzled more often than not. But then again, California's a pretty big place. It probably was sunny _somewhere._

They walked through the forests until they reached a strange house, built entirely out of stone, but charred and in ruins, as if it had burnt down a long time ago. Two chimneys rose from the house, but they looked ready to topple. All in all, the house didn't look very safe. There, they met Lupa, the leader of the wolf pack.

Lupa was probably the biggest animal Teddy had ever seen. On all fours, she was about as tall as Teddy, and she had rich beautiful chocolate brown fur, almost red in the daylight, and she had silver eyes. As Teddy and Jamie came up to her, she looked at them both and then she spoke. _That_ caught Teddy off guard.

"Welcome, to the both of you. I am Lupa." Next to Teddy, Jamie jumped a little.

"You-" she stammered. "You can talk?"

Lupa nodded, the corners of her mouth turning up, almost as if she were smiling. "Yes, girl, I can talk," she said. "I can speak the language of the wolves, I am the creator of Latin, and I even speak your language, English."

Jamie looked at Lupa, eyes wide, as if she couldn't believe what she was seeing. As for Teddy, he was startled at first, but soon he figured _why not? Everything else has happened. Wolves inventing Latin? No big deal._

Lupa turned towards him, then, and said "Teddy Alexander, your mother already told you who your father was, am I right?" Teddy nodded before realizing it probably was rude to not talk, considering she could. So he took a deep breath and said "Mercury." He wanted to add something to his sentance, but it didn't feel right to call her "ma'am," and he felt that just plain "Lupa" would be disrespectful.

She seemed to understand, however, and she turned away for a moment. "Two new recruits," she said quietly. "Or are you two morsels for my table?"

Teddy felt the breath drain away from him. "Uh, what?" he said nervously, as Jamie froze beside him.

The she-wolf turned back to us. "I am the trainer of the children of Rome," she said. "It is my duty to weed out the weak and strengthen those who show promise. If you are too weak to fight, you certainly cannot join the legion. Those who are too weak are not fit to live. They become food for my pack."

Teddy felt sick. "You _eat_ anybody who isn't strong?" He asked incredulously.

Lupa looked at him, and he almost felt like she was laughing at him. "That is the circle of life, is it not, boy?" She replied. "You eat animals that are weak against your mortal weapons, you've eaten beef before, I believe?"

Teddy wanted to argue back, but she had a point. Next to him, Jamie muttered something about "turning vegitarian." Teddy figured he'd join her, if they both lived through dinnertime.

The next few weeks, the two of them trained hard. They had good incentive to try, I mean, who wants to end up the main course for a pack of wolves? Not them. So everyday, They learned to expect an attack at all times, they learned to defend themselves against everything. Teddy was constantly sore from all the bruises he got just trying to survive. Finally, a month after they were brought to the wolf house, Lupa called them both together for a final test.

Teddy and Jamie stood before her and she paced back and forth, and in front of her was a low table with two stones on it, carved in the shape of knives.

"Now, young heroes," The She-wolf said. "Pick up your weapons." Walking forward, Teddy and Jamie each picked up a stone knife. Teddy held his up and examined it, it was surprisingly light, but very strong. It was sharp and well balanced, and he liked the way it felt.

Lupa stood in the center of the room, and looked first at Teddy, and then at Jamie. "Your final test," she said. "Is to fight eachother to the death."

Neither of us moved.

"Uh, what?" Teddy asked, sure he'd mis-heard her.

"You must fight to the death, to prove which of you is stronger," she said. "The strongest will be permitted to travel to Camp Jupiter. The one who dies, well, you are always welcome at my table." She began to cough, but after a minute, Teddy realized she was laughing at her joke. What kind of sick joke was that?

"I'm not going to fight Jamie!" He said, but with a yell, she turned and ran at him, and it was all he could do to get his knife up in time to block hers.

"Jamie, what are you doing?" He yelled. "Stop!"

But she kept swinging, making him back up just to not get stabbed by her knife. Lupa watched silently as they fought, Jamie advancing, Teddy defending, until he realized he was against the wall and couldn't go backwards anymore.

Jamie brought her knife down on top of him and he blocked, and they stood for a second. He looked up and saw fear in her green eyes, but also resolve.

"I don't wanna end up as doggy-chow, Theadore Eumlaudamaus Alexander!" She said quietly. She raised her knife... and Teddy's senses took over. He saw about a million things at once. He saw that she had left her entire lower torso unprotected, he saw that she would bring her knife down precisely where his heart was, and he saw the very small, almost unnoticable root sticking out of the dirt about five feet behind her. Teddy moved fast, stepping to the side as her knife came down, grazing his left shoulder. It hurt, but he had no time to think about it. He used the hilt of his knife to hit her hard in the stomach, and she doubled over in pain. Then he knocked the knife out of her hand and, taking her by the shoulders, rushed her backwards and let go right before she got to the root. She tripped over it and fell backwards, hitting her head on the hard ground. She was knocked out. The fight was over.

Teddy stood over her, his knife still in his hand. He could very easily finish the task, she was defenseless, completely unarmed, and wide open for attack. She would have killed him, and he didn't want to get turned into doggy-chow either, but he couldn't do it.

Teddy turned to Lupa and threw the knife down in front of her. "I won," he said. "But I'm not going to kill her. So did I pass your stupid test, or what?"

The wolf looked at Teddy, the corners of her mouth turned up. "You are a very strange demigod, boy," she said. "Strange, but strong. Very well, you may go on to the camp." She gave him directions to the camp and he listened respectfully, waiting for her to finish.

When she was done, she turned away as if she were about to leave. "Wait," Teddy said quickly. She turned her head back, listening.

Teddy hesitated for a moment, but then he spoke up. "What about Jamie?" He asked, glancing behind him. Jamie was still lying on the floor, unconscious.

"The girl failed the test," Lupa said simply. "She is not worthy to be a child of Rome." Teddy's mind raced, I mean, sure he hated Jamie and all that, but he wasn't about to leave her behind to be eaten by a pack of wolves. "But Lupa, Jamie is stronger than I am," He said quickly, trying to think fast. "She would have won if I hadn't seen that root."

Lupa turned all the way around to face me. "You used strategy and planning, she only understands brute force," She said. "She will remain."

Teddy took a deep breath. He wasn't sure why he was sticking his neck out for Jamie, but he felt he had to. "Yeah, Lupa, that's true," he conceded. "But sometimes brute force is the best way to do things, It get's done what needs to be done."

The wolf cocked her head. "You seem to be saying that she should have won,"she said. "That you should be the one lying there. Is that what you're saying?"

Teddy was getting confused. "Well, no," he admitted. "But Jamie-"

"Jamie would not hesitate to leave you," Lupa said. "She would not give you a second glance."

Teddy paused, thinking. It was true of course, Jamie wouldn't have any problem with him getting eaten by wolves while she travelled to Camp Jupiter. He could do the same thing, he could walk out right now and never look back. But if there was one thing Teddy knew for sure, it was that he didn't want to be anything like Jamie Killigan. So he kept arguing.

"But... but she almost defeated me," he argued. "She uh, she wasn't holding back or anything. If it weren't for that root..." Teddy trailed off, Lupa was laughing again.

"You are a very persistent demigod, Theadore." the She-Wolf said. "Very well, you have persuaded me. She may accompany you to Camp Jupiter. But know this: you have spoken on her behalf, she owes you a great debt. Her life now is yours, and the time will soon come when the debt will be repayed."

With that, she turned and walked away, leaving him with Jamie unconscious on the ground, no provisions except what they had in their backpacks, which had mysteriously appeared by the door, and directions to Camp Jupiter. Even the two knives were gone, it was time to get to Camp.


	3. I kill Napoleon

Teddy was trying to figure out how to get Jamie to camp when she woke up. "Ooooh... What happened?" She asked, sitting up and rubbing her head.

"Uh, I sort of knocked you out in the fight," Teddy told her.

Her eyes got wide. "I... I lost? Does that mean..." She trailed off and then she stood up, looking around her wildly and running at me. She pushed me towards the wall again and grabbed the front of my shirt, as if she were about to beat me up. "I can't believe you, Theadore Eumlaudamaus Alexander!" She yelled. "So what now, you gonna leave me behind to be dinner while you get to go to some camp for demigods? Uh-uh, I don't think so, I'm not done fighting yet!"

"Calm down!" Teddy said, pushing her away. "We're _both_ going to camp, you idiot! Besides, even if I _was_ going to leave you here, you would have done the same thing to me, and you know it!"

She glared at him for another second, before backing off. "Fine," she snapped. "But what did you mean by we're _both_ going to camp? I lost, why am I going?" "Uh, Lupa admired your strength in being the first to attack," Teddy lied. Now that Jamie was awake, he felt embarrased about the whole "She owes me her life" thing.

Jamie looked confused. "She's letting me live just because I attacked first? Really?"

Teddy gulped, sure she was about to call his bluff. His answer _was_ pretty out there.

But she surprised him and shrugged. "Alright then," she said. "I'm not dinner, so I guess I should be grateful or something. So then, what do we do next?"

Teddy walked over and picked up his backpack. "Now we go to Camp," he said. "Lupa gave me directions. From here on out, we're on our own."

Jamie followed him and picked up her pink backpack, slinging it over her shoulder. "Fine by me," she said. "I don't think I could stand staying with the wolves one more second."

They travelled without incident for a couple days, Teddy leading the way by Lupa's instructions. They spent the nights walking and the days resting in a make-shift camp out, not for any particular reason, but they'd gotten used to the wolves' hours. Neither of them spoke for the whole time.

Finally, they got to a sort of cliff-type mountainside, with a highway far below them. It was pretty late in the morning, but they hadn't made a camp because they knew they were getting close to camp. The highway led to a tunnel that split into two different tunnels, one for oncoming traffic, one for traffic going the other way. In the middle was a cement wall, with a big metal door. Probably a maintainance tunnel or something, at least, that's what it looked like.

Carefully, they made their way down the slope, and finally got down to the highway. The cars went rushing past them, and we stared at the middle tunnel, which looked just like any other tunnel, nothing special about it.

The thing that made the two of them stare was the fact that two Roman guards were standing at the entrance of the middle tunnel. Cars were going right by them, not even seeming to notice that two kids in full Roman armor were standing there with long sharp spears, looking ready to attack anyone that came their way. We went their way.

"Hi, uh, we're here to go to the camp," Teddy said awkwardly.

Rolling her eyes, Jamie pushed past him and stood tall, frowning at the two guards. "I am Jamie Killigan and this is Theadore Eumlaudamaus Alexander," she said grandly. Teddy wished she hadn't used his full name. "We were sent here by the She-wolf Lupa and wish to go into camp," she finished.

The two guards nodded at her, and opened the doors. Teddy stared at her, he had no idea she could talk like that, so commanding. he almost admired it. But then she turned around and glared at him. "What are you staring at me for?" she demanded.

Teddy stopped and looked away, the two guards snickering. He felt his ears getting red. They went into the tunnel, and before long, they stepped out into the light... and into ancient Rome.

At least, that's what it looked like to Teddy. Directly in front of them was a river, not as big as the Hudson, but still pretty big. It also looked much cleaner, and much more powerful. Across the river, Teddy could see a high wall with buildings behind it, and beyond that, in the nearby distance, a Roman city on one side and a hill with beautiful temples on the other.

Teddy stopped to look, eyes open wide, but Jamie snapped "Come _on_," and pushed him from behind. He tripped. Jamie laughed. Teddy stood up, seething, but he didn't have time to pick a fight with Jamie, she was walking along the river towards a nearby bridge. He walked quickly to catch up with her.

They walked over to the high wall, and they went through into what appeared to be a military encampment. There were barracks, and stables, a mess hall, an armory, and what looked to be a group of offices and important stuff like that. Jamie looked around and then she went straight for the important looking buildings, Teddy walking behind her, gazing around at everything he saw.

The camp was full of kids in jeans, purple T-shirts, and Roman armor, looking at them curiously, and there were also a bunch of people that shimmered and shone vaguely in the sunlight. They passed one up close and with a jolt, Teddy realized what they were. Ghosts. He shivered a little and resolved not to look at the crowds of people anymore. It seemed like everyone was staring at him, sizing him up, trying to figure out wether or not he was worth anything. So he focused on the buildings, looking at them all in awe.

Before long, they got to the most important looking of all the buildings, and a girl was out there, ready to meet them.

She was around thirty years old, and she had long black hair tied back in a braid. She also wore a purple toga decorated with gold and she wore it over gold armor. As they approached, she eyed them almost wearily, seeming to size them up. "Welcome, young heroes," She said as they got closer. "I am Reyna, daughter of Bellona, former Praetor of the Twelfth Legion and current Senator of Camp Jupiter. What are your names?"

Teddy opened his mouth to tell her his name, but Jamie cut him off. "My name is Jamie Ariadne Killigan, and this is Theadore Eumlaudamaus Alexander," she said. "We were sent here by Lupa and wish to join this camp."

Teddy glowered at her as she talked, then when she was finished, he turned to Reyna. "I'm Teddy," he said. "Just Teddy."

Reyna laughed. "Well, welcome to Camp Jupiter, Teddy and Jamie. Before you can officially join the camp, you must pass before the two Praetors and the Augor. After that, if someone decides you are worth their time, they will stand for you and you may join their Cohort. Come with me, and I'll lead you to the Praetors." With that, Reyna turned and went into the building.

Teddy and Jamie followed her and she went through the building, stopping in front of a door. Behind it, they could hear someone talking, and Reyna knocked, silencing the voices inside. The door opened and Teddy saw a girl, perhaps one of the prettiest girls he had ever seen. She looked about seventeen, and had really long black hair that hung down to her back, and she was wearing a red toga over silver armor, a lot like what Reyna had only not as grand. Her eyes were lovely and kind, they were purple eyes, and she looked at the two of them almost shyly as Reyna brough them in.

There was a low table in the room, covered with papers and parchment and stuff, and sitting at the table was a boy, also around seventeen, with blond hair hanging over his eyes. He looked strong, and he was dressed in a full suit of Roman armor, some of it silver and some of it gold, all polished so that it shone brightly in the light. He smiled as they came in, but stayed where he was leaning back in his chair.

"Well," he said casually. "New recruits? About time, we're running out of campers!"

Teddy looked over at Jamie, and she looked at him before turning to the boy. "You're... running out?" She asked. "What does that mean?" The boy almost responded, but Reyna gave him a warning glance and he shrugged his shoulders, smiling.

"Never mind about that," he said. "I'm Alex Beucefilous, but you can call me "Your Excellency" or "Your Royal Awesomness" or something like that. I'm one of the Praetors here at Camp Jupitor, and this is my co-praetor, Ariana Walker. Say hi, Ariana."

Ariana frowned at him and then turned to Teddy and Jamie, smiling. "It's nice to meet you both," she said. "We can always use new recruits. What are your names?"

Teddy felt uneasy about the whole "losing campers, always need new recruits" thing, but decided to just put it behind him and give it a shot. "My name's Teddy," he said. "Teddy Alexander."

"What?" Alex said, sitting straight up in his chair. "No way! My name's Alexander too!" He smiled at Teddy, and suddenly, Alexander didn't seem like such a bad name after all. "Well, it's only my last name, but yeah," he said with a smile. "My full name is Theadore Eumlaudamaus Alexander," He blurted. There was just something about Alex that made him feel trusting, like he had known him forever.

Jamie next to him must have felt the same way, 'cause she started talking too, and not in a commanding tone like she had been doing earlier. "My name's Jamie Ariadne Killigan," she said. She looked at Alex almost as if she expected him to say that he shared a name with her too, but he looked a little startled and glanced at Ariana before masking his surprise and turning back to Jamie. She looked a little disappointed, but she continued talking. "I don't know a whole lot about the gods, but I'm sure I could learn soon enough," she said. "I'm a fast learner."

Alex smiled and said "Yeah, well, that's a good skill to have. I wish _I_ was a fast learner. The only thing I picked up fast was fighting."

Ariana interrupted Alex and turned to Teddy and Jamie. "Well, I think you could definitely stay here, but before you can, you have to see the Auger," she said. "He'll tell you wether or not you can join the Twelfth Legion. I would ask Reyna to take you, but we need to speak to her about something. Let's see, um... We need to have someone take you to the Auger."

Alex stood up and walked over to the open window, leaning out. Then he yelled "Hey! Valeri Paul! Come up here for a sec!" Then he sat back down in his seat. A few minutes later, the door opened and a girl came in, wearing the standard jeans and purple T-shirt mixed with Roman armor. She had long blonde hair that went down to her back, and she had grey eyes. She looked very familiar, and Teddy tried to think where he had seen her before, but he drew a blank.

She looked at the two of them curiously before turning to Alex. "You wanted to see me?" She asked. "Yeah," Alex answered. "We have a couple new recruits here and we need to see if the Auger agrees to accept them. Can you take them to the temple please?"

"Yes sir," she said. Then she turned to Teddy and Alexander and motioned for them to follow her. She led them out of the building and started to walk through the camp, talking as they went. "So, what are your names?" She asked.

"My name is Jamie Killigan," Jamie told her.

"It's nice to meet you, Jamie," the girl said. "And how about you?" She asked, turning to Teddy.

"Teddy," he said. "Teddy Alexander. I guess I'm a son of Mercury."

"Oh, you already know your godly parent?" The girl asked. "That's lucky. Most people don't know until they're claimed."

"What about you?" Jamie asked. "What's your name, and who's your godly parent?"

"My name's Valeri Paul," The girl said. "I'm a daughter of Zeus."

Teddy looked at her for a second. "Uh, don't you mean Jupiter?" he asked.

Valeri sighed. "No," she said resignedly as if she had expected him to ask. "I mean Zeus."

* * *

As they walked up to the temple, Valeri told them her story. "It all started thousands of years ago, when Rome invaded Greece and the gods changed from Greek to Roman gods, becoming more warlike and disciplined,"she said. "Each god had two different personalities after that, their Greek form and their Roman form. They could change their form at will, and would appear to mortals in whichever way the mortal believed them to be. So then the demigods the gods began to produce would either turn out to be Greek demigods or Roman demiigods. That's perfectly alright, of course, except for the Greek demigods hated the Roman demigods for invading their land, and the Roman demigods hated the Greek demigods, for being so stinkin' hard to conquer."

She smiled, as if she thought that was especially funny. Teddy didn't particularly think so. "Anyway," she continued. "The Greek demigods and the Roman demigods all hated each other, and whenever they got together, there was war. Finally, it got so bad that the gods used the Mist to make each set of demigods forget about the other set, because if they knew of each other, there would be a very bloody war on their hands. They also got a prophecy that a child of the big three, that is, Zeus, Hades, and Poseiden, or, um... Jupiter, Pluto, and Neptune, would pretty much change everything about anything in the world, and this like, really freaked the gods out or something."

She paused and looked at them. "I never was really good at history, so don't be surprised if I get a bunch of stuff wrong. Just saying." Then she continued with her story. "So the big three swore that they would stop having affairs with mortal women, to keep the prophecy from coming true. Everything went good for awhile."

They were out of the camp now and were walking along a stone paved road towards the beautiful city and the hill with temples on it. Ahead of them was a fork in the road, and Valeri turned to the road on the right, leading them towards the hill.

"Sixteen years ago," she said. "Three heroes named Percy Jackson, Jason Grace, and Nico di Angelo pretty much saved the world multiple times from the Titans and the giants and Gaia, and all three of them were children of the big three. Percy Jackson was a son of Poseiden, Jason Grace was a son of Jupiter, and Nico di Angelo was a son of Hades. After one of his world-saving quests, the gods decided that Percy Jackson was the one the prophecy had been talking about, so the big three didn't have to worry about having kids anymore."

Valeri looked straight ahead, but Teddy could see her grey eyes grow dark and angry. "Zeus lost no time in getting back to his old tricks," she said bitterly. "The very next day he met my mother. Nine months later, I was born. I was eleven when I found out the truth. A Satyr found me, and took me to Camp Half-Blood."

Teddy interrupted her. "Wait a minute," he said. "Satyr? Camp Half-Blood? And what about Lupa, didn't you meet Lupa?"

Valeri laughed. "Okay, first things first," she said. "Camp Half-Blood is kinda like Camp Jupiter, in that it's a camp for demigods, only it's for _Greek_ demigods. Does that make sense?"

Teddy shook his head. "No," he said. "Why would there need to be two camps?"

"Well..." Valeri paused. "You know how I said the gods had to seperate the Greek demigods from the Roman ones? That's why there are two camps, one is in New York, and one is here in California. One for the Greeks, the other for Romans."

"So then why are you here at Camp Jupiter if you're Greek?" Teddy asked, bewildered.

Valeri laughed again, and stopped walking so she could turn and look at him. They were about halfway up the hill, heading towards the temples. "I'm getting to that," she said. "If you would like me to finish the story."

Jamie snickered and Teddy glared at her, his ears red. The he turned to Valeri. "Sorry," he said "Go ahead."

She nodded her head. "Thank you. So anyway, after the first great prophecy happened, a second one came that was a lot worse, and the gods were _way_ freaked out by it. So Zeus, or Jupiter, it doesn't matter, decreed that the gods were not allowed to contact the demigods anymore, so this prophecy wouldn't happen. Because, you know, they did _such_ a good job preventing the first one."

Valeri shook her head and chuckled, then continued. "Anyway," she said. "Zeus's wife Hera figured out that the only way to stop this prophecy from coming true was if the Greeks and the Romans worked together. So she picked up Percy Jackson from the Greek camp and dropped him off here, and she picked up Jason Grace from here and dropped him in Camp Half-Blood. So then both sides learned of the existence of the other side. They all worked together, just like the prophecy said, and they all saved the world, just like they'd done so many times before. After that, to ensure that we never forgot that we were all part of the same family and started warring again, the gods decided that one Roman Demigod and one Greek demigod would switch places, and become part of the other team. Sort of like an exchange student thing. Well, I'm the Greek demigod that was chosen to come here to Camp Jupiter."

All was quiet for a moment, and then Teddy spoke up. "So do the Greek demigods go to Lupa?"

Valeri smiled. "No, we don't go to Lupa," she said. "The Greeks recruit demigods completely differently. When I was eleven, a Satyr found me."

"What's a Satyr?" Jamie asked.

"A Satyr is a Faun," Valeri said. "But just like the gods, they have a Greek form and a Roman form. In Greece, a Satyr was a sort of embodiment of nature, a very powerful creature of Pan and Dionysus, and they were very merry and fun to be around, as well as being a powerful ally. In Rome, a Faun was a lesser sort of spirit, as warfare and discipline was at the forefront of their religion, and Fauns were more bent on peace and nature. In Rome, Fauns were originated from Faunus and Bacchus, the Roman counterparts of Pan and Dionysus. So the Greeks gave their Satyr allies a mission to find and protect demigod children, while the Romans sort of treat Fauns as if they were just everyday hippies, choosing rather to let the demigods find their own way to camp, to conquer or die."

"Yeah, that sounds about right," Teddy said. Conquer or Die. It actually sounded kinda cool, if he thought about it.

Valeri nodded. "So I was found by a Satyr when I was eleven," she continued. "And he took me to the Greek camp, where I belonged. There I met the activities director, a centaur named Chiron. He was our Lupa, but not nearly as strict. Chiron welcomed anyone to camp, there was no test, no prior training before you could join. As long as you wanted to learn, he would teach you. I went to Camp and I had a great time, making friends and learning to fight monsters. That was the best year of my life."

"So how'd you end up here?" Teddy asked.

"I'm getting to that," Valeri laughed. "Please hold your questions 'till the end of the tour."

"Sorry," Teddy said, smiling.

Valeri smiled back before continuing. "When I was twelve, the Greek demigod who had been living here died in a quest, and it was time to select another demigod to take his place. The Oracle chose me."

"Excuse me," Jamie said. "The Oracle?"

Valeri nodded. "Yeah," she said. "Here at the Roman camp, we have an Auger, who is a demigod that divines the wishes and intents of the gods by sacrificing small animals, or in our case, small stuffed animals. At Camp Half-Blood, we have an oracle, which is one person used to prophecy things, usually almost straight from the mouths of the gods. Personally, I think it's a much more reliable method of communication, but that's just me. But anyway, the Oracle gave me a prophecy, and I was the one chosen to come here to the Roman camp, and I've been here ever since. See?" She held up her arm and they saw a tattoo of an eagle, on top of the letters "SPQR" and three lines, like a bar code.

"The Eagle is the symbol of my godly parent, Zeus," Valeri explained before they could even ask. "The letters stand for 'Senatus Populusque Romanus,' which is Latin for 'The Senate and the People of Rome,' and the lines represent how many years you've been a legionnaire at Camp Jupiter. You two will start out on _Probatio_, which pretty much means you haven't proven yourselves yet and aren't officially part of the legion."

"How do you stop being on _probatio_?" Jamie asked. "How do you prove yourself?"

Valeri looked up at the sky as they walked. "You have to do some really heroic thing, like defeat a monster or save somebody's life, and then you've proven yourself and they'll make you an honorary legionnaire," she said. "Of course, not everybody does something heroic, so if you survive a whole year here, they'll go ahead and make you a legionnaire. Just living in this place for a year means you've got a pretty good idea on how to be a hero."

"So what did you do to prove your worth?" Jamie asked. It seemed like a pretty reasonable question to me, but Valeri ignored her and looked away.

"We're here," she announced. "At the temple of Jupiter. Come on inside, and the Auger will determine wether you're meant to be here or not."

She led them inside, and Teddy swallowed before following. He never would have admitted it, but he felt almost... nervous... about this whole Auger thing. Not scared. But nervous. What if the Auger decided not to let Teddy join? But if he never faced his fears, he would never conquer. So he took a deep breath and followed Valeri Paul and Jamie into the grand temple.

As long as he lived, Teddy would never forget that trip to the Auger. When they first walked into the temple, The guy was standing dead center in the middle of the room, staring at the fire and muttering something to himself. He looked deep in thought, as if something was seriously bothering him.

"Hey Alfie." Valeri said quietly as they walked up.

Alfie absently looked up from the ground and studied Teddy and Jamie as if they could be dangerous or something.

"Alfie, this is Theadore Eumlaudamaus Alexander and Jamie Ariadne Killigan," Valeri said. "Teddy, Jamie, this is Napolean Alfie Godenot, our new Auger."

"Wait a minute," Teddy said. "New? As in, brand new, never been before, no experience?"

Valeri looked uncomfortable. "Um, yeah," she said. "Alfie's new to the whole "Auger" thing. Our last Auger died last week in the middle of a prophecy. But that doesn't mean it'll happen again!" She added quickly, as the Auger looked at her angrily, as if she'd just reminded him that he was getting a Lamiae for his birthday.

Then he glanced at Teddy for a moment, and he could see something else too. Fear. Just a smidge of it, behind all the anger and contempt in the bloodshot blue eyes. Alfie Godenot wasn't sleeping too well, and Teddy could guess it had something to do with being the "new" Auger. He didn't have time to feel sorry for the guy, though, because Alfie glared at him for a second and then turned towards the fire.

"Alright, let's get this over with," he said irritably, and walked up to the sacrificial stone in the middle of the room. He pulled a stuffed pig out of a nearby toy bin, and put it on the table, then he slashed at it vigorously with a knife. Then he looked at all the stuffing that had spilled out of it. He waited for a few moments, then he turned back to them.

He didn't look at Teddy or Jamie, just Valeri. "They're both to come into the camp," he said quietly. "They are to be placed in the same cohort, and they are to spend quite a bit of time with you, apparently."

Valeri looked impressed. "Really?" she asked. "Did the gods tell you all that?"

Alfie shrugged. "Sometimes they're very specific. Oh, one more thing," he said. "According to the entrails, _They are the ones who will pave the way_."

Suddenly, Alfie gasped and shuddered, falling to his knees. He shut his eyes as tight as he could and said "Oh," before collapsing on the stone floor, unconcious. Valeri was at his side in an instant.

"Alfie!" she said urgently. "Alfie, come on! You know we can't lose any more!" But it was too late. He was dead.


	4. What Exactly I Signed Up For

"WHAT IS GOING ON!?" Teddy hadn't meant to yell, but he felt like that was the only way he could get any of his questions answered. He and Jamie were standing in the back of the Praetors office, while Alex, Ariana and Valeri all argued about something to do with a prophecy and Reyna sat in the back looking thoughtful.

Everyone stopped and looked up at him when he yelled, and Ariana pursed her lips as if she were really angry about something. Reyna sighed and stood up out of her chair. "I'm not going to lie to you," she said solemnly. "Camp Jupiter has been going through some very rough times."

"You mean like, running-out-of-campers, our-Augers-are-dying-every-other-week kind of rough times?" Teddy interrupted. His mom had said he'd be safe here, but he didn't feel very safe.

Reyna just nodded her head. "Yes," she said. "Ever since last winter, when our Auger was given the first of the Many Prophecies, we've had terribe luck. Campers go out on quests or vacations and are never heard from again. New Recruits are told in the entrails that they have no place here in Camp Jupiter and are forced to leave. Inexplicable injuries seem to happen to the campers at odd times, making them unable to fight or train. And then there's the Many Prophecies. Every time a new piece is delivered, it takes the life of the one who saw it. Yes, we are in rough shape."

Teddy looked around. "Well, what's the whole prophecy? I mean, you know, so far?"

"We are not permitted to tell you!" Ariana snapped. "Prophecies are not meant for the weak or young to try and interpret."

"Hey, Ariana, calm down!" Alex said quietly. "Teddy didn't know, don't be so rough on the kid."

Ariana flushed and looked down. "I'm sorry, Teddy," she said quietly. "I didn't mean to snap."

Alex looked at Teddy and tried to force a smile. "Don't sweat it, Teddy." he said. "We're pretty sure it doesn't involve you, so there's no reason for you to worry. Apparently, you both are accepted, so tonight we'll find out if anyone'll stand for you."

Jamie hadn't said anything since Alfie had dropped dead, but suddenly she spoke up, causing everyone to look at her. "But... But if it doesn't involve us, why did... the auger... say that we were the ones who would pave the way? That was part of the prophecy, wasn't it? That was why he... died, right?"

Alex looked at Reyna like he didn't know what to say. She sighed. "I'm afraid we can't be certain," she said. "So until we are, you both must accept that we cannot tell you. Also, please do not tell any of the other campers what it is Alfie said. Valeri, please show them around the camp until suppertime."

Valeri stood up and said "Yes, Reyna." Then she turned and opened the door, waiting for them to step through. Teddy was about to argue, but she gave him a look, like she was saying "later", so he shut his mouth and followed Jamie out into the hall. Valeri closed the door and they started to walk down the hallway. "The first thing I want to show you is the Field of Mars," she said.

The Field of Mars was probably the coolest field Teddy had ever seen. And normally, he didn't see any cool fields, so he hadn't been expecting anything grand. But now he looked around in awe as he followed Jamie and Valeri.

"You'll see more of this tonight after dinner," Valeri said. "We have War Games scheduled for tonight."

"Wait a minute," Teddy said. "War Games?"

Valeri nodded. "Yeah," she said. "War Games. You ever played Capture the Flag? The war games are kinda like that. The five cohorts get split into two teams, those who defend and those who attack. The defending team is given a flag to protect, and an hour in which to build a stronghold. Then we defend ourselves as the other team attacks, aiming to capture our flag. It's pretty simple."

"What Cohort are you in?" Teddy asked. For a second, Valeri looked angry, and Teddy thought he might have asked a wrong question or something, but then she smiled.

"You sure ask a lot of questions," she said. "I'm in the Third Cohort. We're kind of in a bad luck slump right now, but then again, who isn't?"

We were silent for a minute, but then Jamie spoke up. "So..." she said. "The Many Prophecies?"

"Oh, right." Valeri ganced behind us, almost as if she were making sure the coast was clear. Oh wait, she probably was.

"I was around when we got the first piece," She said. "It was about four months ago, and the Auger at the time, Paulie Jones, was determining the possibility of a quest. He told us that the team would be succesful, but would never return, and then he gave the first piece."

She looked away, as if she could still remember the event. "He said; 'three set out to find the lost,' and then, he was dead." She paused and took a deep breath, then she continued. "We weren't really sure what was going on, we knew it was a prophecy, but it was so small, so vague, we couldn't understand it. Then, a week later, our new Auger gave out the second piece. I wasn't there at the time, but the news spread fast. According to the girl who was there, he said 'four will triumph, ending frost.' Then _he_ was dead. After that, three more Augers died, but I never heard what they said. Ariana made sure their prophecies were kept a secret."

Valeri looked off into the distance, towards the hill with the Temples on it. "I think you were right," She said. "The prophecy must be about you two. _They are the ones who will pave the way._ He was talking about you when he said that. I know- er, I knew Alfie. He was a pretty strange guy, but... he always knew what he was talking about. If he didn't know everything about a subject, he didn't open his mouth. He knew what he was saying when he gave that piece, and he knew that it was about you two. Now if Ariana would just listen to me."

Teddy frowned. "Oh yeah," he said. "What's her problem anyway?"

Valeri laughed bitterly. "Don't worry about it," she said. "Ariana is... really a nice girl, but she's got a lot on her plate right now. Besides, she's rather uneasy around people she doesn't know. It's nothing personal for you."

Teddy thought about that as we went to go see the rest of the Camp. He guessed it made sense, I mean, Ariana was co-Praetor of Camp Jupiter, and, well, Camp Jupiter was practically falling apart. She was probably under a lot of stress. Teddy decided he would just have to wait and see how things played out, starting with dinner that evening, when he and Jamie would be placed in our Cohorts.

* * *

If you think that everything went smoothly when Teddy was placed in his cohort, then you really don't understand the way his life works. Nothing ever goes smoothly. As Teddy and Jamie stood up front with Ariana and Valeri, Alex spoke to the legionairres below.

"Colors!" He shouted. Five kids came forward, carrying long poles decorated with the emblems of each cohort. Then a sixth stepped up, carrying a long pole with an impressive looking golden eagle perched on top, positioned as if it were about to fly off. The kid holding it looked straight ahead proudly, and I could tell just by looking at the rest of the legion that this was an envied job.

Once the guy with the eagle stood in his position, Alex continued. "Romans!" He announced. "Two newcomers arrived today, Theadore Alexander and Jamie Killigan, seeking to join the legion!" He turned to Valeri Paul. "As witness to the auguries, tell us the verdict of the gods!"

Valeri looked nervous to be standing in front of the entire camp, but her voice didn't shake as she recited what Ariana had instructed her to say. "The auguries are favorable. They are qualified to serve!"

Teddy was startled as suddenly everyone in the room shouted "_Ave_!" He blinked, completely confused. He would have to ask somebody what that meant later.

"Thank you, Valeri," Alex said. "You may now return to your station." As Valeri slowly walked to one of the groups of soldiers, Alex turned to face Jamie and said "Recruit, do you have any credentials or letters of recommendation?" Teddy didn't know what he was talking about. Letters of recommendation? Did he need those to get into the camp? If he did, he was screwed.

Jamie stood up a little straighter and said, much to Teddy's surprise, "Yes sir, I do." Then she reached into her pocket and pulled out an envelope, sealed with red wax. Alex looked a little surprised as well, but he took the envelope and broke the seal, then he opened it and pulled the letter out from inside.

He read it quickly and then he turned to the rest of the camp. "Jamie Ariadne Killigan is recommended to the first cohort by her father, Benjamin Killigan, a retired legionnaire of that same cohort," He said. He turned to the first group of soldiers and said "Do you accept the recruit?"

Simultaneously, the campers in the group began banging their shields on the ground. A tall, thin girl, who somehow managed to make the jeans, tee-shirt, and armor she wore look sophisticated and expensive, addressed Alex as the cohort quieted down. "My cohort has spoken," she said clearly, but not loudly. "We accept the recruit."

Her tone was decidedly bored, with a slight air of superiority, and Jamie looked even more nervous than usual as Alex turned to her with a small smile. "Congrats, Jamie," he said. "You are now on _probatio_. You will be given a tablet with your name and cohort, and a year from now, you'll be a full member of the Twelfth Legion Fulminata. Unless you complete an act of valor before hand, in which case, you'll become a full member a lot sooner. Serve Rome, obey the rules of the legion, and defend the camp with honor."

Then he turned to Teddy. "Recruit," he said again. "Do you have any credentials or letters of recommendation?" Teddy shifted his weight nervously. "No," he said. "I don't have any letters."

"That's alright," Alex grinned, for the moment reverting back to his usual jovial self. "I didn't have any letters either." Teddy felt a lot better. At least he was going to get in. "Ahem," Ariana cleared her throat and looked at Alex pointedly. He sighed and then continued, back to his intimidating praetor mode.

"Now then," He turned and addressed the legion. "Will any legionnaires stand for him?"

If the room hadn't already been completely quiet, Teddy would have sworn it grew so then. He swallowed loudly during the awkward silence which ensued, and immediately regretted it, as it seemed everyone noticed.

Then, a quiet voice from the back of the third cohort spoke up. "I will stand for him."

Teddy craned my neck to see who it was, and saw that it was Valeri Paul, looking straight ahead angrily. Before Alex could say anything in return, however, Ariana spoke up.

"Valeri Paul," she said coolly. "I am sorry to say that you are not eligible to stand for the recruit."

Alex looked from Ariana to Valeri with a look of worry that didn't seem to go very well with his character.

Valeri directed her angry gaze to Ariana and said "On what grounds am I ineligible? I became a full member of the Twelfth Legion Fulminata three years ago, and have loyally served Rome in every possible way since."

Ariana glared back. "You are ineligible," she said quietly, "Because you are not a true child of Rome. You participate in our games and wear our armor, but at heart, you are a _Graecus,_ and are therefore ineligible to stand for a Roman recruit."

Throughout the legion, there could be heard a few snickers, and as Teddy looked around, he saw several legionnaires glance smugly at Valeri, who had turned red with anger. But she closed her mouth and bowed her head, and after a moment of silence, another voice spoke up.

"I will stand for the recruit," said a male voice, and Teddy looked at the speaker, another legionnaire from the third cohort. He was somewhat tall and slender, and underneath his helmet, Teddy could see blue eyes, also looking up at Ariana angrily. She looked at him and sighed.

"Very well," she said. "Kile Blake, you will stand for the recruit. Does your cohort accept him?" Reluctantly, the rest of the third cohort began to pound their shields on the ground, and another girl spoke up as the cohort quieted down. "My cohort has spoken," she said. "We will accept the new recruit."

Ariana turned towards Teddy. "Congratulations, Theadore Eumlaudamaus Alexander," She said as Teddy felt a brief pang of annoyance that she had used his full name. "You are now on _probatio._ A year from now, or when you complete an act of valor, you will become a full member of the Twelfth Legion Fulminata." Then she turned towards the rest of the legion and said "_Senatus Populusque Romanus_!"

As the rest of the legion echoed the cheer, Teddy looked at Valeri again. Her head was still down, and he realized why she always seemed so miserable. It must not be very easy, being the only Greek demigod in an entire army of Romans. He wondered if everybody treated her like Ariana had. _It just isn't fair,_ he thought. _She's such a nice person, why does it matter whether she's Greek or Roman?_

The room quieted down again, and he had to return his attention to Alex, who, red-faced, cleared his throat. "Alright, everybody," he said. "You have one hour for dinner, and then it's out to the Field of Mars for some war games!" Then he turned to Teddy and Jamie as the cohorts started filing out. "You two come with me, I'll get you your _probatio_ tablets and then you can join your cohorts for dinner."

Teddy was suddenly very hungry. They hadn't had anything to eat since they had been brought two sandwiches while Valeri explained about Alfie to Alex and Ariana. And needless to say, Teddy hadn't been very hungry at that time.

He couldn't wait for dinner.


End file.
